Newly released footage appears to show that a US Tomahawk missile is responsible for a blast that hit a girls school and killed 168 people in Iran in the opening days of the Middle East conflict.

Investigators are focusing on the proximity of the hit to a school in Minab, which sits directly alongside a Revolutionary Guard base.

First scrutinized by Bellingcat, an independent investigative collective of researchers, investigators and citizen journalists, the newly surfaced video was filmed on the day of the school strike and released this Sunday by Iran’s Mehr news agency. 

The group says they design and share verifiable methods of ethical digital investigation.

The footage captures the moment of impact as a missile slams into a building, triggering a massive column of black smoke.

Sources also tell CBS that they believe the US may be responsible for the bombing of the girls school, based on a preliminary US assessment. 

Bellingcat researcher Trevor Ball identified the projectile as a Tomahawk, a cruise missile exclusive to the American arsenal. 

On board Air Force One this Saturday, President Trump addressed the recent strike involving Iran, asserting that US forces played no part in the February 28 bombing.   

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (right) said ‘we’re certainly investigating’ who was behind the attack, but agreed with Trump that it is something Iran might have done

The bombing killed 175 people, mostly children, on February 28. People are seen at the site after the strike

When pressed by the press corps regarding potential American involvement in the operation, Trump clarified the administration’s stance: ‘No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.’ 

But the White House did not respond to several requests for comment about the veracity of Bellingcat’s findings.  

The findings from Bellingcat create a significant rift in the official narrative. 

The group stated that the visual evidence ‘appears to contradict’ the Trump administration’s claims, which had previously laid the blame for the school tragedy squarely on Tehran.

US Central Command has confirmed using Tomahawk missiles in their military campaign. 

The school was, according to one official, reportedly not an intentional target. 

The incident may have been a tragic error resulting from the use of obsolete intelligence, which incorrectly flagged the location as an active Iranian military facility, according to a source briefed on the preliminary intelligence who spoke with CBS News.

Israel’s military was also reportedly not operating in the area, two sources told CBS News. 

Children between the ages of seven and 12, along with staff members, were among those who died in the school strike in the Iranian city of Minab.

While speaking about the US’s attack with Iran on Saturday on board Air Force One, Trump said American troops had nothing to do with the bombing that killed 175 people, mostly children, on February 28.

When asked if the US was behind the attack, Trump told reporters: ‘No, in my opinion, based on what I’ve seen, that was done by Iran.’

A reporter then turned to US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who stood behind Trump as he spoke, and asked if the president’s claim was true.

‘We’re certainly investigating,’ he said before backing up the commander–in–chief.

‘But, the only side that targets civilians is Iran,’ Hegseth continued before Trump made another comment, doubling down on his claim.

‘We figure it was done by Iran, because they’re very inaccurate, as you know, with their munitions. They have no accuracy whatsoever. It was done by Iran,’ he told the press.

Dramatic images released after the attack showed numerous graves dug up so the victims could be laid to rest

US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (right) said ‘we’re certainly investigating’ who was behind the attack, but agreed with Trump that it is something Iran might have done

Fire breaks out at the Shahran oil depot after US and Israeli attacks, leaving numerous fuel tankers and vehicles in the area unusable in Tehran on Sunday

Trump’s claim comes after Reuters and The Wall Street Journal reported that the US was ‘likely responsible’ for last week’s strike.
 

US officials told the WSJ: ‘US military investigators think American forces likely were responsible for a strike that killed dozens of children at a girls’ elementary school in Iran.’

The investigation hasn’t reached a final conclusion, the outlet reported on Friday.

Meanwhile, two other US officials told Reuters the same thing, but the outlet ‘was unable to determine more details about the investigation, including what evidence ‌contributed to the tentative assessment, what type of munition was used, who was responsible or why the US might have struck the school.’

Fox News reporter Laura Ingraham also hit out at the US for reportedly being behind the deadly airstrike.

‘If true, this is horrific news –– and the U.S. military will have to address this publicly. Proximity of military compound obviously a factor, but our weapons also have pinpoint accuracy,’ she wrote on X, linking the WSJ article.

The attack stands among the deadliest incidents so far in the US–Israeli campaign against Iran.

Officials said most of the victims were young children, and it remains unclear why the school was hit and which nation fired the airstrike.

Central Tehran was rocked by a huge explosion this morning as the US–Israeli alliance dropped a huge payload on the Moqaddad base of the Revolutionary Guards’ 

The 146ft B–1 Lancer has a wingspan of 137ft, weighs 86 tonnes and is the fastest bomber in the US Air Force, according to Boeing, hitting speeds of more than 900mph

During a White House briefing on Wednesday, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the airstrike was not launched by the US ‘that we know of’, and said the ‘Department of War is investigating’ the attack.

Hegseth also addressed the tragedy in a press conference on Wednesday, saying: ‘We of course never target civilian targets, but we’re taking a look and investigating that.’

Dramatic images released after the attack showed numerous graves dug up so the victims could be laid to rest.

The school attack has sparked controversy across the world, leaving many upset to hear that young, innocent children were killed.

But on Wednesday, conservative firebrand Matt Schlapp suggested the Iranian schoolgirls would be better off dead than alive and wearing burkas.

Schlapp, the head of the influential Conservative Union advocacy group, made the remark as he appeared on Piers Morgan Uncensored last week.